Skin cancer” also” known as melanoma is caused from UV rays from the sunlight in most cases. One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime (skincancer.org). When spending a long amount of time in the sunlight it is always good to wear sun screen, hats or use an umbrella to block the UV rays from damaging your skin. People who use tanning beds as a form of getting darker skin are at a higher risk of developing skin cancer. Since “beauty” plays such a big role in our society, many girls are using tanning beds to have “tan” skin because that is how society portrays we look like. With the numbers of skin cancers arising many products are now making lotion to give people that “bronze” that they are looking for. This helps keep people stay out of tanning beds, and become more alert about how bad tanning beds are for you. Just four visits a year to the tanning bed can increase their risk for melanoma by eleven percent (skincancer.org). It is impossible to avoid contact with the sunlight at all times, however in your best interest you should always have sun screen available, sunglasses, a hat, and a cover up if you are at a beach or pool. It is important to keep a close eye on any skin changes, or new moles that occur on your body. Everyone should get skin check-ups once a year with their doctor, because skin cancer has little to no …show more content…
We are living in a society where we are surrounded by so much bad that it is hard to be healthy. However we need to put our health first because we all want to live a long healthy lifestyle. Cancer is something we have all dealt with one way or another, whether it is yourself a family member, a friend or someone that you know. As for myself I deal with it every day of my life. My father, godson, and best friend are all dealing with the horrible disease of Cancer right now. Before their battles came into our lives, I lost several family members because cancer took their life from them. It is very important to me to take care of my health for the simple fact that I already know that cancer is in my genes. I always make sure that I am staying on a healthy balanced diet, and staying away from all red meat. Red meat is a factor that causes colon cancer, and my father is battling colon cancer. Smoking is not a bad habit of mine; however I try to stay away from second hand smoke. Sun safety is a something that I need to practice more of. I enjoy spending all of my free time outdoors. I rarely ever use sun screen and my ethnicity is Native American, so I tan very easy. I have had numerous moles removed due to the fact that the Doctor was worried it was skin cancer. With as many scares as I have had I should have learned my lesson by now.